<p>I just saw “Matilda” on Broadway and noticed a mix of vocal styles. “Miss Honey” was a legit soprano with the exception of one bizarre brassy belt section of one song, which both my husband and I found jarringly out of character!</p>
<p>I just saw “Wicked” again yesterday on Broadway and the lady playing Glinda had a beautiful legit soprano voice, so even in modern musicals, there is still work for legit sopranos.</p>
<p>Stole this quote from a recent article about the Muny in reference to Porgy & Bess, which will be one of their shows during next summer’s season. “The 1935 show about life among the poor black people of Catfish Row is difficult to stage, in part because it demands performers with exceptional, operatic voices. Those singers tend to be booked a couple of years in advance, a long time by musical-theater standards.” I found it encouraging that exceptional operatic voices are still in demand. :)</p>
<p>Audra McDonald is a soprano.</p>
<p>Ditto Kristin Chenoweth – youtube her “Glitter and Be Gay” from Candide if you’ve never heard that side of her repertoire!</p>
<p>I saw A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway last week and both female leads had the most beautiful legit soprano voices. Those young ladies were amazing! So there is still work for legit sopranos. It was a very funny show, by the way, if you’re ever in NYC.</p>
<p>Was so glad to read these posts that there IS hope for legit classically trained sopranos in MT!!! I was worried that there wasn’t a chance on earth and constantly hearing they’re not supposed to sing from Green Finch/Sweeney, and don’t dare sing Memory… or something from Les Miserables… How depressing. I guess we will see where the chips fall! I do imagine as I read that schools where the MT is in the Music Division are probably the best hope…</p>
<p>goinplacesmomsD, I couldn’t tell if you knew this already --but people say not to sing those songs because they’re extremely overdone, not because they’re discouraging classical singing.</p>
<p>There are many musicals that require a legit soprano, e.g. all of Rogers and Hammerstein, lots of Sondheim, and many contemporary musicals such as Light in the Piazza,the ones listed above, etc. </p>
<p>The most successful singers will be able to both belt and sing legit soprano. The supported belt is the best for your voice, too; many colleges will train the legit soprano to properly belt.</p>
<p>But “they” also say to stay clear of Sondheim. Very difficult for a lot of accompanists to play, and you sure don’t want any mess ups that way.</p>
<p>yes, absolutely, theatrelvr–Accompanists prefer no Sondheim because the music is difficult. But I referring to the original question, “is there still a place for sopranos in MT.”</p>
<p>We wrestle with the same thing. Our D has a beautiful soprano voice with a broad range. She has never been a belter, but she just started with a new coach who is trying to teach her how to do it safely. Unfortunately, these skills will not be developed until audition season is over. One of her audition songs she has a very difficult soprano piece where she hits all the notes cleanly. Her other song is a ballad with a belting section that she does reasonably well - as long as she doesn’t try to overpower it. She is convinced that she MUST have a belting song at auditions in order to be competitive. Mom and I are concerned that it might actually be a problem for her, and that she should just do two difficult legit songs that really showcase her skills.</p>
<p>All of the prescreen submissions (8 total) have both songs, and the belt video is a bit sketchy. She has so far received 2 “no” responses on call backs. Mom and I have decided that if she receives 8 negative responses we will “encourage” her to change her song and show her real stuff at the remaining 12 auditions.</p>
<p>My two cents here - I’m tired of the belting in modern musicals. The overwrought, overly emotional singing is akin to over acting. I would much rather hear Belle in Beauty and the Beast any day. It’s like Norah Jones vs. Whitney Houston.</p>
<p>
While the BFA MT at Coastal Carolina is in the Theatre department, the voice faculty for the MTs are from the Music department. I posted about the program here, including some links to the voice faculty bios.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/16624458-post11.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/16624458-post11.html</a></p>
<p>And as you can see here, the CCU production of Sweeney Todd in Concert was a collaborative production. Many of the leads were MTs, including Johanna.
[Coastal</a> Carolina?s production of ?Sweeney Todd? bleeds with local, international talent - Visit! - Myrtle Beach, SC: Shows](<a href=“Visit”>Visit)
[Sweeney</a> Todd: A Bloody Good Time | Chanticleer News](<a href=“http://www.thechantnews.com/2013/09/16/sweeney-todd-a-bloody-good-time/]Sweeney”>http://www.thechantnews.com/2013/09/16/sweeney-todd-a-bloody-good-time/)</p>
<p>cheeseheadmike, my D is a legit soprano, and entered the audition season without a clue of how to belt. Her wonderful coaches gave her a beautiful not overdone legit soprano piece, and a mix-y piece. It was just fine. We did not try to have her belt in auditions, b/c she did not know how to do it safely. She is happily ensconced at Ithaca, where her vocal training concentrates on classical, but it slowly and healthily introducing a belt. She got into a number of schools that didn’t give two hoots that she couldn’t belt. (And, it is interesting to note that my D got into more schools than several of her female friends who showed two belt songs, but did not have a good legit voice … and they were called out on it at several schools.) The ONLY school that even asked her if she could belt was Penn State. When she said no, they said, “Sure you can,” brought her over to the piano and gave her a mini lesson. Just stay away from the schools that are known to give strong preference to belters, like TSU and Pace. Or, if they are already on your extensive list of schools, don’t be discouraged if they say no. There are a ton of wonderful programs that love a legit soprano, even if they can’t belt: Ithaca, BoCo, NYU-Steinhardt, OCU, Indaina, FSU, JMU, Penn State, CMU…</p>
<p>However, I think it is risky to try to teach your D to belt now, and to show a belt at prescreens or auditions when she doesn’t feel comfortable and where it sounds “sketchy” (your word, not mine). Show her strengths, not her weaknesses. And mixing is enough. Just my two cents…</p>
<p>This is some really good stuff - so true. Thanks for the wisdom on legit sopranos. Indeed my daughter too, was asked at a recent audition if she had another song that was more belt - she did, and sang that third song thinking, hmmm, I wonder if this is a good sign or a bad sign. With all the competition - she assumed it was bad, and they they weren’t interested in a legit soprano. Well she was wrong - she just got the word she was accepted by them. I guess they just wanted to figure out if she could mix it up and be trained in college. We shall see…lol</p>
<p>My D is a mezzo soprano (as if I know what that means). All through high school she could not belt; in fact her voice teacher specifically did not want her to do so because she felt it would hurt her voice. She auditioned for 10 schools, neither of her audition songs were belt songs. Only one school asked if she could belt, and she wasn’t accepted there. She was accepted to three schools and is now happily learning to belt as a freshman MT.</p>
<p>I’m so glad I asked this initial question. Reading these posts has really buoyed my daughter’s confidence in her future as a legit soprano. She was just cast in a local production of Light In The Piazza which has also reminded her that there are even newer Broadway musicals that demand legit sopranos, not just the beloved golden oldies.</p>
<p>Yes sopranomtmom, I’m so glad you asked it too. My daughter also feels more confident now going into the rest of her auditions. And similar to jeffandann, she has been virtually forbidden by her voice teacher all these years to belt. We just feel so much better with all the posts - that she can just keep her audition non-belty songs as they are, and show her actual skills - and still have a chance. And congrats on the recent casting of your daughter sopranomtmom!</p>
<p>Thanks for asking the initial question, Sopranomom. The responses have been very helpful in boosting our D’s confidence as well. In fact, when she got home from her voice lesson last night she said that maybe she’d like to minor in opera, or at least go to an opera-leaning school. </p>
<p>Oh, and congrats to your D’s on her new role. Light in the Piazza is one of our D’s dream pieces.</p>
<p>Is Oklahoma City U. on your daughter’s list, Cheeseheadmike?</p>
<p>Applying for it today. It is the perfect program for her. Thanks for the tip!</p>